The Latest Breaking News from Southwest Airlines

The U.S. economy continues to cook, despite late December weakness, adding to Wall Street puzzling growth challenge amid a muted fourth quarter earnings season.

Southwest Airlines said customers are booking away from the carrier after the December meltdown that resulted in 16,700 cancellations and disrupted holiday travel for millions of travelers.

As Southwest Airlines spiraled out of control during its 16,700 cancellation holiday meltdown, so did the plans for passenger Brenda Angeles, pilot Seth Kornblum and flight attendant Kristen Loucks.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines has come to a tentative contract deal with the union representing its 450 dispatchers that would give immediate 17% raises and scheduling improvements, a positive sign for the carrier after a rocky year of labor relations.

Early January saw Southwest Airlines cutting two-thirds of its flights following an operational meltdown stemming from an arctic storm. A canceled flight often leaves passengers in a conundrum over whether to request a refund or sit and wait for the airline to put them on the next available flight.

Travel meltdowns at Southwest Airlines and the FAA have exposed how deeply we depend on outdated or unreliable computer systems. Yet as Io Dodds discovers, cancelled flights and ruined holidays are only the tip of the iceberg

The airline loves apologizing but it does not seem to be taking its next potential flight disruption all that seriously.

Southwest Airlines is sending millions of dollars in ‘gratitude pay’ to workers after the historical meltdown that led to 16,700 flight cancellations in late December.

The airline industry expects demand to recover to pre-pandemic levels this year, but recent safety issues could alter those projections.